Loren C. Steffy's Blog, page 54
February 17, 2012
Hidden taxpayers costs emerge from mortgage settlement
The new mortgage settlement will enables the big banks to shift much of their costs back to taxpayers in what amounts to a back-door bailout.
February 16, 2012
Nabors' charity effort pales against executive pay
When Nabors Industries' overpaid chairman, Eugene Isenberg, agreed last week to give up his $100 million severance payment, the word "charity" came up a lot. But how much is he really giving?
February 15, 2012
How done is the $25 billion mortgage deal?
Although the Justice Department and attorneys general for 49 states announced the massive $25 billion settlement over robosigning and other mortgage abuses with the big banks last week, it's not clear how definite the settlement actually is. American Banker reported that the actual terms of the settlement still aren't public, and the final documents apparently [...]
February 14, 2012
James Baker on prospects for tax reform and deficit reduction
James Baker III, the former secretary of state and the Treasury under the Reagan and first Bush administrations, dropped by the Chronicle today, and I got to ask him about his views on tax reform and the economy. Baker was integral in getting one of the most sweeping tax reform packages in U.S. history passed [...]
Obama's budget: what mandatory spending cuts?
Remember all the talk of fiscal responsibility surrounding last summer's debt ceiling debate debacle? Now that it's budget season, all thought of spending cuts is forgotten.
February 13, 2012
Texas drought takes it toll on cotton planting
Last year's record drought already hurt the 2011 cotton harvest, and it's likely to curtail the amount of cotton grown this year as well. Farmers are expected to plant 13.6 million acres of cotton this year, a 7.5 percent decline from last year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The smaller planting may help raise cotton [...]
February 10, 2012
Did Goldman conflicts taint Kinder Morgan-El Paso deal?
Conflict allegations by El Paso Corp. shareholders attempting to block the pipeline company's takeover by Kinder Morgan are "serious," a Delaware judge declared Thursday. But he may not do anything about it. Chancery Court Judge Leo Stine said he didn't want to issue an injunction in the case because shareholders can still vote it down, [...]
February 9, 2012
The big banks' Big Tobacco moment
The country's biggest banks have agreed to pay $25 billion to settle claims of foreclosure abuses that occurred after the mortgage meltdown. It's the biggest industry-wide settlement since the states reached a deal with tobacco companies in the late 1990s. From the AP: Under the agreement, five major banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, [...]
Locking myself out of CERAWeek
Yesterday, I tried to register for CERAWeek, the annual oil industry confab next month. The computer, of course, asked me to create a password. I entered an easy one that I could remember. It wasn't a great password, I'll admit, but this is a conference registration, not an application for Pentagon clearance. Not good enough. [...]
February 8, 2012
Hewlett-Packard slims down pay for post-Apotheker era
Hewlett-Packard seems to have learned some lessons about paying top executives for failure
